Pure Bitcoin Beats Fine China On US Wedding Registries

More and more tech savvy couples are recognizing the value of Bitcoin as an investment option for their new lives together, putting the digital currency at the top of their wish list on wedding registers.

There are cases, especially in the US, where couples have either received Bitcoin or asked for it,as a gift. As the cryptocurrency's value has surged, it has attractedkeener interestin the mainstream, bringingmore playersto the table.

As a gift, Bitcoin plays aninteresting roleas it has the same properties as a stock or gold, but with the potential returns that are unheard of in any form of asset management. A young couple who are usually starting their lives together have forgone fairly useless things like kitchenware and crockery for a digital currency that has the potential to double in value in a short time.

The best gift we got

Business Insidereditor Emily Cohntweetedthat the Bitcoin her and her new husband received back in 2016 proved to be the “the best gift we got.” In September last year, at the time of their wedding, one Bitcoin was worth $230. By the end of the year, they had already doubled that and a year later the currency was worth $2,383.

However, Bitcoin is a complex and volatile asset and as such probably should not be regarded a perfect gift for everyone.

Neeraj Agrawal, a spokesman for the Bitcoin advocacy groupCoin Center, explains: “Because it is so volatile and has a learning curve, use your best judgment on whether or not the happy couple would genuinely appreciate a cryptocurrency gift,”he said.

Still on the fringes

Although the wedding industry is constantly growing and evolving, there has not been a huge uptake in Bitcoin as a gift - yet. It is not quite at its tipping point, but companies involved with wedding gift registries have seen instances of the digital currency being gifted.

Honeyfund, a registry for honeymoons that allows guests to give cash rather than gifts, admits that it has dealt with about a dozen cases of people looking to send Bitcoin rather than cash. Another registry site,Zola, recalls just two instances of people routing Bitcoin to their registries since 2013.

Millennials drive Bitcoin gifting

Honeyfund's chief executive officer and co-founder Sara Margulis believes that it is only a matter of time before Bitcoin starts to play a big role in gifts for wedding, as well as honeymoons, but only for those who know and understand the digital currencies.

“I would expect it to pop more as Millennials come into the wedding age,” Honeyfund’s Margulis said. “It’s something you will do if your friends and family are already into Bitcoin — not something most couples would do.”